“We will fix this,” he said firmly. “It’s going to be all right, Paige.”
“How?” The agonized look she turned on him clove his heart in two. “How will it be all right, Conleth? How can thiseverbe right?”
And to that, he had no answer.
CHAPTER 38
Go back.His bear tugged at him, trying to make him stop, turn around.Not good, not safe. Go back, go back, go back.
Archie thrust his animal away, refusing to listen. He kept running, stumbling over tree roots, thorns scratching his legs.
It would have been a lot faster and easier as a bear. But he couldn’t shift. Shifting was bad and wrong, and he was bad and wrong, and everyone would be better off without him.
He didn’t have a plan, or even any idea of where he was going. Justaway.Away from Mom, and the terrible way she’d looked when she’d seen him. The look that had said that Paige was right. That it was all true.
She’d be all right, once he wasn’t around. Paige would look after her, and Mom would look after Paige. They’d have each other, and he’d be…somewhere far away, on his own. Where he couldn’t hurt anyone, not even by accident.
He kept running, lungs burning, bear whimpering at the back of his mind. They’d search the area around the camp first. His best bet was to head away from Thunder Mountain. He’d avoid the roads, and towns, and people. He’d…he’d find a caveor a deer hide or something. Somewhere he could hide until everyone gave up and stopped looking for him.
It was a stupid idea, of course. Just like all his ideas, like everything he did. Even as he ran, he knew it wasn’t going to work.
He kept going anyway, even when a shadow passed overhead. He didn’t stop when hoofbeats thudded behind him, or when they turned into footsteps, catching up. He put his head down and kept running, because that was easier than turning around to confront the truth.
Conleth didn’t try to grab him, or block his way. He just fell into step alongside him, matching his pace.
Archie tried changing direction a few times, but Conleth stuck to his side like a tall, annoying shadow. Eventually, he was forced to stop, chest heaving.
Stupid Conleth wasn’t out of breath, of course. He didn’t even look tired. Weirdly, he had the handles of a canvas bag looped around his neck, which puzzled Archie for a second until he realized that would be the only way Conleth could have carried it in his shift form.
Conleth pulled the bag over his head, rummaging inside. Without a word, he held out a water bottle. Archie glared at it, then at him.
Shrugging, Conleth set the water bottle on the ground. Moving back, he seated himself on a nearby log, stretching out his legs. “All right. It’s there if you want it. When you’re ready.”
Archie thought about taking off again, but stupid Conleth could catch him before he’d taken a single step. And hewasreally thirsty after all that running.
When Archie had finished drinking, Conleth gestured at the bag. “I brought snacks.”
His bear pricked up its ears.What kind of snacks?
Archie squashed his animal back into a little box at the back of his head. “I’m not hungry.”
“Well, I am.” Conleth took out a granola bar, unwrapping it. Archie caught a waft of oats and honey, and his stomach growled. “I flew a search pattern over most of Thunder Mountain before I realized you must have headed the other way. Where were you going?”
Archie hugged his stomach, trying to ignore the empty ache inside. “Why do you care? You’re gonna take me back anyway.”
“Just curious.” Conleth took an unhurried bite. “I tried to run away from home once. With my brother, Connor. We made it as far as the end of the street. So you’ve beaten us in both time and distance by a considerable margin, if that’s any consolation.”
In a weird way, it kind of was. At least there was one thing he’d done better than perfect Conleth.
It felt stupid to be standing around when Conleth wasn’t, and anyway, his legs were tired. He sat on the log, not too close. “Why did you try to run away?”
Conleth shrugged, swallowing. “It seemed easier than sticking around. We were in big trouble at the time, you see. Just been expelled from school.”
Conlethhad gotten kicked out of school? “Youwerenot.”
“Oh yes. Remind me to tell you the apple story sometime.” Conleth crumpled up the empty wrapper, tucking it into the bag. “We figured no one would miss us. That our parents would be relieved when they found out we’d gone. It didn’t work out like that, of course. Our father found us within ten minutes. Then we were in even more trouble.”
“Yeah, this is making me feel much better about getting caught,” Archie muttered. “Now I can’t wait to get dragged back and grounded for life. Thanks so much.”
